Democratic Primaries

DonViejo

(60,536 posts) Fri Jul 12, 2019, 02:22 PM Jul 2019

Kamala Harris Says She is Being Targeted by Russian Bots: 'We Have to Know When We're Being Played'

By Connor Mannion July 12th, 2019, 12:29 pm

2020 presidential contender Sen. Kamala Harris said her campaign is already being attacked by Russian bots online and argued it is important to pay attention to when it happens.

The California senator appeared on The Breakfast Club, where she contended outrage over Colin Kaepernick fueled by bot networks online. “Many smart people have said it was actually not a thing,” Harris said. “The Russian bots started taking that on.”

Harris was asked if she thought her campaign was being targeted by bots. “We already know we are,” she responded.

“What we have to do is we also have to know when we’re being played and we also have to respond immediately when we know something is inaccurate because in 2016 I think it’s fair to say a lot of folks thought ‘oh nobody’s gonna take that seriously, that won’t get any heat.'”

“We have to pay attention to that stuff and know it won’t be real people doing it,” Harris said. “Those bots that stir it up to the point that it generates heat and then people start getting swept into it.”

video
https://www.mediaite.com/election-2020/kamala-harris-says-she-is-being-targeted-by-russian-bots-we-have-to-know-when-were-being-played/

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

12 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Kamala Harris Says She is Being Targeted by Russian Bots: 'We Have to Know When We're Being Played' (Original Post) DonViejo Jul 2019 OP

yes she is along with some other candidates JI7 Jul 2019 #1

This is the problem.. with running at the front of the pack... the BOTS will target them Peacetrain Jul 2019 #2

Attacks that have an insinuation of racism attached are absolute fuel for bots. SouthernProgressive Jul 2019 #3

Everything is fuel for bots StarfishSaver Jul 2019 #7

No she didn't make a mistake Andy823 Jul 2019 #9

In other words, she not only damaged Biden a bit, but may have damaged herself in the process. Tarheel_Dem Jul 2019 #10

Willie Brown will be her Revered Wright kimbutgar Jul 2019 #4

The bots and trolls have been out there going after Sen Harris long before the Debates. tulipsandroses Jul 2019 #5

You mean like the effort to push negative stories about her past personal relationships? StarfishSaver Jul 2019 #8

Yes- tulipsandroses Jul 2019 #12

I have no doubt. I've seen it myself. StarfishSaver Jul 2019 #6

All the candidates need to deal with this mcar Jul 2019 #11

JI7

(89,251 posts)

1. yes she is along with some other candidates

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 02:25 PM

Jul 2019

the intensity of attacks changes based on the amount if coverage they are getting.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided

Peacetrain

(22,877 posts)

2. This is the problem.. with running at the front of the pack... the BOTS will target them

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 02:38 PM

Jul 2019

and it is just a damn shame.. ..she made a huge mistake in the last debate.. she got a 24 hour boost.. then the facts started coming out.. I was one of her biggest supporters till that stunt.. she knocked him for a loop with that..knocked me for a loop too.. I could not figure out where that came from.. and it is fuel for the fire for the BOTS.. they just eat this stuff up

Harris has got to start running for Commander in Chief instead of Prosecutor in Chief.. that has a set of baggage all its own.. Biden ended up getting past it.. by going to South Carolina and addressing the issue.. Harris has to stop shooting herself in the foot and wanting to fall back on the Prosecutor's need to have the last word..

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

SouthernProgressive

(1,810 posts)

3. Attacks that have an insinuation of racism attached are absolute fuel for bots.

Reply to Peacetrain (Reply #2)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 02:49 PM

Jul 2019

Our candidates should know that by now.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)

7. Everything is fuel for bots

Reply to SouthernProgressive (Reply #3)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 03:50 PM

Jul 2019

Especially when someone says anything about race. And if they're black, it's even more combustible and serves as a great "twofer" - it helps to stir up all kinds of drama AND is an opportunity to tell black people to shut up about race.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

Andy823

(11,495 posts)

9. No she didn't make a mistake

Reply to Peacetrain (Reply #2)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 04:14 PM

Jul 2019

Last edited Fri Jul 12, 2019, 10:03 PM - Edit history (1)

CNN now ranks her as number 2, right behind Biden. The bots are going after her because the Russians know she can beat trump, just like with Hillary. The bots went after her, not Bernie, because they didn't want Hillary in office.

Harris "has" been addressing the issues, maybe you haven't been keeping up, and she is NOT shooting herself in the foot. Joe was not prepared for the debates, and all the attacks on Harris will not change that fact. She knows what she is doing, and she is more than qualified to beat trump and become president.

I look forward to the next debates, and in the end whoever become the nominee will get my full support. I just happen to think that person will be Harris.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

Tarheel_Dem

(31,234 posts)

10. In other words, she not only damaged Biden a bit, but may have damaged herself in the process.

Reply to Peacetrain (Reply #2)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 04:34 PM

Jul 2019

Oh, the irony.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

kimbutgar

(21,155 posts)

4. Willie Brown will be her Revered Wright

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 02:51 PM

Jul 2019

Get ready for them to attack her on this past relationship.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

tulipsandroses

(5,124 posts)

5. The bots and trolls have been out there going after Sen Harris long before the Debates.

Reply to DonViejo (Original post)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 02:57 PM

Jul 2019

Just like there were fake black people pushing Anti Clinton sentiments in 2016 to suppress the black vote on black social media. The same thing has been happening for quite some time long before the debates in regards to Sen Harris.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided

StarfishSaver

(18,486 posts)

8. You mean like the effort to push negative stories about her past personal relationships?

Reply to tulipsandroses (Reply #5)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 03:52 PM

Jul 2019

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden

tulipsandroses

(5,124 posts)

12. Yes-

Reply to StarfishSaver (Reply #8)

Fri Jul 12, 2019, 09:08 PM

Jul 2019

But there have been other things too. Its all the same plan. To suppress the black vote. - A lot of this is just making its way to "mainstream media" but this has been going on all along in black spaces. Malcolm Nance has been fighting back against some of this and has been warning folks about Russian Trolls and Bots targeting black folks- Its quite insidious how they have encompassed race into their plan.

Some of the stuff from earlier this year
[link:https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryancbrooks/black-activists-twitter-bots-2020-election-trolls|

As the presidential campaign begins, activists who follow the movement say they’ve worked to push black presidential candidates to embrace policy that would directly affect the lives of black voters who are American descendants of slavery. Some of that work has specifically targeted Harris for her prosecutorial record during her time as California’s attorney general and San Francisco’s district attorney.

Harris, who is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, is not a descendant of American slaves, and ADOS activists have questioned if she understands what they say are their specific needs and concerns.

A group of women who have been working since 2014 to identify Twitter disinformation campaigns and trolls blackfishing — or fraudulently posing as black on the platform — say the ADOS hashtag has become a prime target for bad actors to hijack to spread criticism and disinformation about candidates in the same way that Russian trolls in 2016 posed as black Americans to exasperate real concerns about Hillary Clinton’s record and to astroturf existing social movements like Black Lives Matter.

This is what Malcolm Nance said recently about the ADOS movement

.@esglaude #ADOS are not all bots. They’re trolls. There is significant evidence targeted foreign origin amplification campaigns selectively push their openly stated agenda to suppress black votes & attack ONLY black Dems. Their message is weaponized for Trump. Not Legit.
[link:
Link to tweet

|

This is more main stream and not just from black social media. [link:https://slate.com/technology/2019/02/trolls-internet-democrats-racist-trump-harris-warren-bernie-sanders-trump.html|

It Sure Looks Like Trolls Are Weaponizing Call-Out Culture to Weaken Democrats
According to a report Wednesday in Politico, Democratic contenders have been the targets of online propaganda aimed at sensationalizing missteps and promoting falsehoods. If these troll campaigns share a goal with the efforts of 2016 and 2018, then the point may be to widen societal divisions already prominent in American life and, in particular, weaken the Democratic Party. In particular, they seem intent on weaponizing a productive moment in our politics in which public figures are finally being held to account for their past actions, and Democrats are sometimes asking other Democrats to resign. The trolls want Democrats to eat each other.

These troll efforts aren’t only trying to smear candidates using issues of concern to the left—sometimes they’re just sexist and racist. Sen. Harris appears to be a favorite early target, according to Guardians.ai, which found that Harris attracted more activity on Twitter than any other Democratic presidential candidate in the 30-day period it studied. Days after Harris announced her candidacy, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown wrote a terse op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle admitting that he dated Harris, apparently because reporters had been calling him about it. That was on Jan 26, but even now, weeks later, chatter about their decades-old relationship is still proliferating on social media. On Facebook, videos made about their relationship have racked up hundreds of thousands of views, and on Twitter, replies to Harris’ tweets are saturated with lewd comments accusing Harris of using sex as a ladder to success.

Trolls of both foreign and domestic vintage helped make the 2016 election the cacophony we remember. Now, as candidates struggle to differentiate themselves at a time when voters on the left may punish a candidate who has crossed ethical lines, it’s safe to expect trolls on social media to play every misstep up to its fullest—potentially as part of another propaganda effort to ensure victory for Donald Trump. Even if a meme you see that disparages a Democratic candidate is based on truth, it’s important to remember that its goal might be to simply weaken Democrats by making candidates toxic for swaths of the left, and ultimately make 2020 a repeat of 2016